About Us
Harp
CAROLYN MILLS
Carolyn’s passion for the harp began at age five. Since then she has
continued to share her love of this instrument with audiences all around
the world. She grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and studied in Boston and Tanglewood, with the legendary Lucile Lawrence. Principal Harpist of the NZSO since 1989, Carolyn has also played with the Dallas and Houston Symphonies, and was Principal Harpist of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria in Mexico City. She has been a soloist with a number of NZ and US orchestras on many occasions, and has given concerts in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.
Carolyn’s CD recordings include the Grammy-nominated Song of the Black
Swan with violinist Dawn Harms, and her popular solo CD, Mirage.
Carolyn loves taking her harp to school children and has played to thousands of students in both New Zealand and the US. She has appeared on an educational CD for the award-winning Universal Children’s Audio and has also received numerous grants to take her widely acclaimed Harp Informance Programme to far-flung rural areas.
Very active in collaborating with contemporary composers, Carolyn has
commissioned or co-commissioned a wide variety of works from distinguished and talented New Zealand and American composers, and continues to bring these pieces to life on the concert stage, in recordings, and in schools. She is co-founder of the flute and harp duo Flight, which has been widely sought after by major music festivals in Australasia.
Carolyn was invited to perform in London as part of the City of London Festival and recently at the Australian Harp Festival in Adelaide, as well as the 10th World Harp Congress in Amsterdam. She recently completed a recital tour of several cities in the United States, performing a number of New Zealand works written especially for her.
